


Of Lesbians and Lycanthropy

by orphan_account



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Ace Gilda, Alternate Universe - College/University, Asexuality, Bisexual Dorothy, Bisexuality, Christmas Fluff, Coffee Shop, F/F, Faery Gilda, Fluff, Holiday Fic Exchange, Holidays, Modern Magical Fantasy, Multi, Polyamory, Porn, Threesome - F/F/F, Werewolf Charlie, Werewolf Dorothy, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-24
Updated: 2014-12-24
Packaged: 2018-03-03 03:42:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2836799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charlie is staying alone on campus for the holidays despite her best friend Dean's protests. She is rescued from mind-numbing boredom by Gilda and Dorothy, two other students alone for the holidays. As they quickly become close, Charlie isn't sure how to balance exploring their blossoming relationship with keeping them out of harm's way during the nights of the full moon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Lesbians and Lycanthropy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lingeringdust](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lingeringdust/gifts).



> Fulfilling the combined prompts of college AU and modern magical fantasy with werewolf students. Enjoy! <3

“Are you _sure_ you’re going to be okay all on your own?” Dean asked her for approximately the two billionth time as he shoved more clothes into the suitcase resting on his bed. 

Charlie rolled her eyes at her roommate and best friend. “Yes, Mom,” she answered sarcastically from her own bed on the other side of the room, crossing her pajama-clad legs underneath herself. 

“‘Cause you know,” Dean continued, ignoring her, “if you change your mind and want to spend Christmas with my family, I’m just a phone call away,” he said, his sincere facial expression only somewhat undermined by the way he was desperately attempting to squash down his clothes to make room for one more video game. 

“I know, Dean,” Charlie answered more gently. “Thank you. But I have _Assassin’s Creed_ to play and tons of TV to catch up on now that finals aren’t consuming my life!” she reassured him. 

He just raised his eyebrows at her, looking unconvinced.

“And my _Lord of the Rings_ Extended Editions have just been screaming out to be re-watched—I can’t neglect that,” she added gravely.

After finally successfully zipping up his suitcase, Dean gave her another piercing stare. 

“I mean, not marathoning _Lord of the Rings_ at least once a year can lead to some pretty serious health complications,” Charlie continued to blab, “and I think with all this college madness I’m getting pretty close to my due date.”

Dean sat down on his bed and tilted his head at her. “Is this about a girl?” he asked suspiciously. 

“Dean Winchester,” she huffed, “I am shocked and appalled at the accusation—”

Dean just rolled his eyes and looked at her pointedly. 

“No!” Charlie cried out indignantly. Still, those green eyes bored into hers. “I mean, okay, that cute girl across the hall _is_ supposedly also going to be around, but that’s totally beside the point—”

“I knew it!” Dean triumphantly exclaimed. “Someone’s looking to get lucky,” he smirked. 

“Well, Dean,” she teased, “a person can only walk in on their best friend having super enthusiastic sex with their new boyfriend so many times before that person gets a little jealous and a lot horny, so…”

Dean flushed red, to her immense satisfaction. “Yeah, yeah, okay. Point taken,” he admitted. 

“And…” she added tentatively, “you _do_ know what else happens to fall on Christmas Eve this year, right?” 

“‘Course I do,” he responded. “I know you’re out of commission for that night and the couple before. I just figured… I know, and Cas knows, and you’ve got it pretty under control lately. We’d have you covered. Might be better than being alone,” Dean shrugged. 

Not for the first time, Charlie was filled to the brink with immense gratitude for her best friend. “I’ll be fine, I promise,” she assured him. “I don’t want you to have to lie to your parents and all—that whole thing is just a disaster waiting to happen. And besides,” she added with a grin, “You’re going to have your hands full as it is bringing Cas home for the first time.”

Dean grunted at that. “Yeah… don’t remind me,” he groaned. “My mom should be fine, and Sammy, but if my father and I don’t strangle each other before the end of winter break it will be a miracle.”

“Well, I’ll just be a phone call away,” Charlie said with a sardonic smile, echoing his words from before. 

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Dean laughed, putting up his hands. “You’re not a damsel in distress. Just, if you _do_ want company on Christmas—”

“I’ll call, I swear,” Charlie acceded with a smile. 

Finally satisfied, Dean nodded and stood, hoisting his bag over his shoulder. 

“Say hi to Sam for me?” Charlie asked. 

“Yeah, yeah, come here,” Dean said, holding his free arm out. 

Charlie pushed herself up off of her bed and squeezed her arms around her roommate. “I love you,” she said as she pulled back. 

“I know,” Dean answered with a wink, musing her hair before heading for the door. 

Charlie tried not to feel too lonely once the door closed behind Dean. Sure, spending winter break by yourself in a dorm wasn’t exactly ideal. And she had been forced to go through a hell of a lot of bureaucracy to even get permission. But there were at least a couple of other people around she could go out looking for if she wanted, and Dean’s family was a short drive away from the University of Kansas if she needed to get out. But really, she was used to being on her own. It kind of came with the package when you were like her. 

 

*****

For the first twenty-four hours, Charlie was fine. Great, actually. She had meant what she had told Dean—finals had kept her from a wide variety of things including obsessively playing various videogames in her rather extensive collection and catching up on episodes of TV shows she had fallen behind on due to the outrageous number of papers and exams before semester’s end.

But by Saturday night it was getting just a little too quiet, and her usual go-to nerdy activities felt a little hollow without being able to share them with someone. She hadn’t realized how accustomed she had grown to having her friends around to geek out with and to make her laugh. How was she going to make it until after Christmas? 

She was trying to re-master the skill of doing a backbend when she heard her _Legend of Zelda_ themed alert from her phone where it laid on her bed, causing her to collapse to the hard, dorm room floor with a thud. Rubbing at her elbows that had absorbed most of her fall, she leaned back onto her Wonder Woman comforter and collected her phone only to see a message from her best friend from high school, Kevin Tran.

“Hey, loser, are you surviving all by yourself? If you haven’t been murdered yet, get on Skype!” the text read. 

Charlie beamed. Count on Kevin to somehow sense just what she needed. 

She hurried over to her open laptop and pulled up the Skype application eagerly, signing in and calling the user “Kevin Frickin’ Solo.” 

“Kevin!” she said loudly as soon as his face filled her screen. “You saved me!” 

Kevin laughed. “So you’re not still mad at me for staying in Cambridge?” he asked. 

“Oh, no, I’m still pissed about that,” she responded cheerily. “If you were here I wouldn’t want to die of boredom.”

Kevin snorted. “You know I would rather be there, Char,” he said, running his hand through his hair. “I just couldn’t—”

“Pass up the opportunity to work with Dr. Fancypants over winter break at your Fancypants University, I know,” she filled in for him with an eye roll.

“I never said it would be an easy road becoming the first Asian American president of the United States,” Kevin said gravely. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know, smartie,” Charlie answered with a smile, secretly proud of her friend. “I just miss you! When am I supposed to be able to humble that ego with my mad hacking skills if we never get to hang out?” 

“As if you’d ever let me forget,” Kevin laughed. “But you’re… okay on your own? I know the full moon’s coming up, and I just—”

“I’m good, Kev, really,” she interjected, “I swear, between you and Dean—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know you can take care of yourself,” Kevin said, “I just hate the thought of you alone on Christmas. It will be done by then, right?”

“Yeah, Christmas Eve is the last night of the cycle,” Charlie responded. “I may go over to Dean’s after that, I don’t know. But he has Cas there too, and I think he has enough drama dealing with his dad without my ‘furry little problem’ as one Sirius Black once put it.” 

“Fair enough,” Kevin acceded. “You know I’d go all animagus on you if I could so I could keep you company, right?” he asked, looking at her sincerely.

Charlie couldn’t help but blush a little at that, pleased. “Yeah, I know.” 

“I’ll try to stop worrying,” Kevin promised. “Just call if you need anything, okay? You know… at the points where you don’t have paws.” 

“Yeah, yeah, thanks, Kev,” she laughed. “Can I kick your ass at _League of Legends_ now, or what?” 

Kevin sighed dramatically. “Yes, your highness, let’s get to it. Just let me off with some dignity, mkay?” 

*****

The next morning, Charlie groggily pulled herself out of bed and assembled her dorky dorm room bathroom caddy to head down the hall to shower and get ready for another dull day alone. She entered the hallway just in time to see a head of dark curls flash around a doorway to a room across the hall and a few down from her own before the door fell shut with a heavy thud. Charlie couldn’t stop the broad smile from spreading across her face—it was the cute girl she had mentioned to Dean the other day, and sure enough, it looked like Charlie wasn’t the only one sticking around for the holidays. Thank the Valar. 

As she showered, she made half-formed plans of how she could casually run into Cute Girl and spend some time together. Surely Cute Girl was bored out of her mind too and in need of some company? She mentally grasped for Cute Girl’s real name, stumbling over a “g” sound. It was a pretty name that you didn’t hear very often… Glinda, maybe? 

_Besides_ , she thought as she headed back towards her room wrapped up in her towel, _Tonight’s my last night of freedom before Chewbacca-me takes over. May as well enjoy it_. 

Pulling on a well-worn pair of jeans and one of her many nerd t-shirts (it was a _Firefly_ kind of day today), Charlie gathered her courage to go across the hall and knock on Cute Girl’s door. That wasn’t weird, right? Maybe under normal circumstances it would be strange, but come on, they may as well be the last two on earth here. _Boy, if that isn’t a line, she thought with a chuckle before chiding herself, Keep it in your pants, Charlie_. 

Taking a deep breath, she opened her door again and headed down the hall to Cute Girl’s door, knocking firmly a few times before she could lose her courage. 

The door opened moments later to reveal Cute Girl peeking out cautiously from behind her door, her honey brown curls pulled into a half ponytail. Her eyebrows raised in surprise as she took in Charlie standing before her. 

“Hi,” Charlie began with an awkward smile—Jesus, she had game sometimes, really—“I just, I saw you in the hall earlier and I figured—”

The girl smiled widely. “Thank goodness. I was losing my mind in here,” she said, opening the door further. “Do you want to grab a coffee or something?” 

Charlie breathed a sigh of relief. “You read my mind,” she said genuinely. 

The girl laughed and it sent warmth flooding down Charlie’s spine—everything about Cute Girl was soft and sweet and welcoming, and she felt just a little infatuated already. Uh oh. 

“Come in,” Cute Girl gestured, “let me just get my boots and a coat.” 

Charlie entered and stood awkwardly by the door as Cute Girl scanned her neatly organized closet. “Your name is Charlie, right?” she called back as she pulled out an elegant pair of knee-high black boots. 

Damn it. Cute Girl knew her name, but Charlie didn’t know hers. How embarrassing. 

“Yep, that’s me!” she confirmed with a smile. “And, I’m sorry, I know your name starts with a ‘g,’ but—” she fumbled.

Cute Girl just laughed. “Gilda,” she said as she finished pulling on the boots and reached for a black overcoat. “Don’t worry about it—it’s a strange one.” 

“It’s beautiful,” Charlie said genuinely, blushing slightly. Illuvatar, what was it about this girl that turned her into an awkward mess?

Gilda just beamed. “Ready when you are, Charlie.” 

“Did you have somewhere in mind?” Charlie asked as they descended the stairs towards the exit. 

“Honestly? I just am so excited to have human interaction and to get out somewhere that I really don’t mind,” Gilda laughed. “But I wonder if Emerald City Coffee is open? That’s usually my go-to favorite.” 

“Oh, I love that place!” Charlie responded enthusiastically as they pushed the door open and ventured out into the cold December air. “Let’s go check it out. But I know just what you mean—I think I’m a pretty independent person, but I swear there’s something _Twilight Zone_ -y going on with how time passes in that building. A couple days felt like an _eternity_.” 

“Well, thank goodness you sought me out and we can keep each other company!” Gilda said warmly as they walked. 

Charlie nervously realized she would have to come up with a reason to not be around Gilda at night once the full moon hit. But for now she was so taken with Gilda that she willfully pushed it out of her mind. 

“For sure,” she said instead. “It looks like the apocalypse happened,” she added after a slight pause, looking around the normally bustling college town. There were only a few solitary people on the street who seemed to be engaged in some last-minute Christmas shopping. 

“I hope Emerald City is open…” Gilda mused in agreement as they approached the coffee shop. “It looks empty.” 

They approached the door and Charlie cautiously tested to see if it was unlocked. “It is!” she said victoriously, opening the door for Gilda. 

“Oh, I’m so relieved,” Gilda said with a happy sigh as she entered. “I am in desperate need of a peppermint chai.” 

“A what now?” Charlie asked bemusedly—she preferred just plain old black coffee, thank you very much. 

Before Gilda could answer, there was a crashing noise from the room behind the counter that made them both turn their heads. 

“Do I hear actual _people_ , or have I finally lost my mind?” came a rather brusque voice. 

“Um, yes, we’re… people,” Charlie said awkwardly, glancing at Gilda in confusion. “I’m sorry, are you closed?” she called towards the faceless person. 

A young woman who must have been in her early twenties appeared behind the counter, her long brown hair pulled into an austere bun. “Oh thank _fuck_ ,” she said. “Actual customers.”

Charlie and Gilda both laughed a bit incredulously. “Oh _shit_ I’m not supposed to curse in front of—I mean, damn it—” she stuttered before taking a deep breath. “What I mean to say is, ‘Welcome to Emerald City Coffee, what would you like today?’” she asked in a practiced cheery voice that was nothing like her more naturally blunt demeanor. 

Charlie was too busy gawking appreciatively at the barista to respond, but thankfully Gilda, who seemed to be the very essence of composure, smiled kindly at Dorothy and requested a peppermint chai. 

“And you, Red?” the barista asked, more of her direct mannerisms slipping through.

“Just plain coffee, thanks,” she said, smiling at the nickname and reaching for her wallet. 

“This one’s on me, you two,” she said. “I’m just grateful to know I’m not the next Rick Grimes.” 

Charlie beamed at the reference. “Oh, but I’m sure you’d make a kick-ass zombie apocalypse leader,” she said brightly. 

The woman laughed. “Thanks, Red, I’m sure you’re right,” she responded with a wink. “I’m just not quite ready to put myself to the test yet.”

“Are you sure about the coffee?” Gilda interjected. “I don’t want you to get in trouble—”

“No, really, it’s fine,” the woman answered reassuringly. 

“Will you at least join us?” Gilda asked. “As long as that’s okay with you, Charlie,” she added, glancing at her newfound companion. 

Charlie beamed. “Of course! But we’re gonna have to know your real name if we’re all going to be having coffee,” she added with a wink—finally, there was more of her usual charm.

“Dorothy,” the brunette said with a smile as she began making their coffees. “And you two?”

“Gilda,” Charlie’s companion said, “and this is Charlie.” 

“Cute names,” Dorothy said as she set out Charlie’s coffee. “Still gonna call you ‘Red,’ though, Red,” she winked. 

Charlie’s queer radar was going off like a Sneakoscope around Barty Crouch Jr. _Merry Christmas, Charlie Bradbury_ , she couldn’t help thinking with a smirk. Word was still out on Gilda, but her hopes were high. 

Dorothy turned to making Gilda’s peppermint chai and some kind of latte that was presumably for herself. “So, are you two students at the university?”

“Yes,” Charlie answered, “I’m a senior studying computer science,” she said. “How about you two?”

“Oh,” Dorothy interjected, “you two don’t know each other? I just presumed—”

“We just met officially today,” Gilda said with a smile in Charlie’s direction. “We live in the same hall, and we each felt like the last person on the planet before Charlie came knocking on my door earlier.” 

“I know the feeling,” Dorothy said sympathetically. “So how about you, Beautiful? That means you’re an undergrad student too?”

“Yes,” Gilda answered, looking a bit flustered at the compliment, “I’m a senior as well. I just finished applying to the University of Kansas’s masters in literature program.”

“Oh, congrats!” Charlie said genuinely, putting a hand on Gilda’s shoulder. Gilda smiled shyly at her. 

“I’m a graduate student, actually,” Dorothy said as she handed Gilda her drink. Keeping her own in hand, she lifted up part of the counter that served as the exit and came to the other side. “Shall we?” she asked, gesturing towards a table.

“What are you studying?” Gilda asked Dorothy as they took their seats. 

“Anthropology,” Dorothy answered. “Especially different cultures’ mythologies and the like.”

“That sounds so interesting!” Gilda answered. “I would love to hear more about how you like being a graduate student here.”

“Oh, you’ll love it,” Dorothy said with a smile. “What kind of books are you into studying?” 

“The old stuff,” Gilda said with another one of those shy smiles that led Charlie to believe that she didn’t open up about her interests often. “Medieval period. I want to learn Old English, Anglo-Saxon, all of that.” 

Charlie whistled lowly. “That’s kinda badass, did you know that?” 

At that Gilda flushed purple and took a purposeful sip of her chai. “Thanks.” 

“I agree with Red,” Dorothy chimed. “You must be wicked smart to do that.” Gilda looked embarrassed, but pleased. 

“I feel like you two would be good contributions to my LARP team,” Charlie said after a pause. “Knowledge about mythology and about the medieval era combined with my own mad fencing and archery skills? We’d be unstoppable.” 

“LARP?” Gilda asked curiously. 

Charlie turned a little pink. “Live Action Role Playing,” she admitted. “It’s where a bunch of nerds like me dress up and pretend.” 

“So like… knights and monsters and stuff?” Dorothy asked. 

“Yep,” Charlie confirmed, twitching a little self-consciously in her seat. “It’s super nerdy…”

“It sounds brilliant,” Gilda said with a kind smile. “I would love to dress up as a princess or something.” 

Dorothy nodded contemplatively. “Could I be a knight of some kind?” 

“You could be whatever you want to be,” Charlie said with a smile. “That’s kinda the point. And as for dressing up like a princess,” Charlie added in Gilda’s direction. “Saving damsels in distress is sort of my specialty.” 

Gilda returned to blushing at that. 

_And it looks like we may be two for two_ , Charlie thought with a smirk. This break was beginning to look interesting indeed. 

“LARPing sounds fun to me,” Dorothy said. “I’m in. The three of us should go sometime.”

“Yes, okay,” Gilda smiled. “I’m in too.”

Charlie beamed. “I’ll make nerds of you both,” she declared deviously. 

They both laughed at that. 

A couple of moments passed in a comfortable silence as the three of them sipped at their coffee. 

“Can I ask…” Dorothy ventured hesitatingly. “Can I ask why you guys are staying in town over the holidays? Not with your families I mean?” 

Charlie hesitated, and a glance over at Gilda’s carefully masked face revealed that she too had something that she was reluctant to share. 

Dorothy looked between them. “It’s okay if you don’t want to say, I know the holidays can be rough.” 

“I just…” Charlie began uncertainly. “I don’t want to bring down the mood.” 

“Ah,” Dorothy nodded. “Well, mine’s no upper either, but it’s pretty straight forward. Dad’s been ‘traveling.’ Since I was about ten.”

“He’s the only family you have?” Gilda asked quietly. 

“Yep,” Dorothy said, sipping her coffee. “I mean, he still sends me money, so I know he’s out there somewhere, but…” she shrugged. “I can take care of myself.” 

“Me too,” Gilda added. “I’ve never knew my biological parents. I was in foster care until I was eighteen.” 

“I was in the foster system for a while too,” Charlie interjected with surprise. “After my dad died when I was twelve and my mom…” Gilda and Dorothy looked at her expectantly. “Well. She’s been in the hospital ever since then.” 

“I’m sorry, Charlie,” Gilda said sincerely. 

“Don’t be sorry,” Charlie said with an overly bright smile. “It looks like we’re all in similar situations.”

There was a slightly awkward pause, and yet despite the discomfort of three near-strangers opening up about their life stories, Charlie felt some sort of warm fondness growing within her for these two women who just got it without her having to explain.

“I almost went over to my best friend Dean’s for Christmas,” Charlie began again more brightly. “That’s where I usually go. But he was finally bringing his new official boyfriend who he’s been in love with forever, and I did _not_ want to be around that drama.” 

Dorothy and Gilda both laughed. “Yep, at least I don’t have to worry about the whole ‘coming out’ thing,” Dorothy said bluntly. “I just do what I want and who I want and no one really gives a damn either way.” 

“I came out as a lesbian to my comatose mother when I was fifteen,” Charlie admitted with a shy smile. “I like to think she heard me and is cool with it and not, you know, screaming internally.” 

“I’m sure she is, Charlie,” Gilda said kindly, putting her own hand over Charlie’s. “I’m sure she’s just glad that you told her.”

Dorothy gulped down the rest of her latte before putting it aside. “So… you and me, Red,” she said with a mischievous smile. “A couple of queers all alone for the holidays?” 

Before Charlie could answer, Gilda interjected, “Make that… three ‘queers,’” she said nervously, the word falling awkwardly on her tongue. “I… I don’t know what I am, but I know that I like girls too,” Gilda said with a blush. 

“Well, look at you!” Dorothy said happily, patting Gilda on the back. “Was that your first time coming out?”

Gilda nodded and finished the rest of her chai. 

“Good for you, Gilda,” Charlie said sincerely, smiling at her new friend brightly. 

“I think this calls for something stronger than coffee,” Dorothy said with a wink in Charlie’s direction. “What are you two lovely women doing tonight?” 

“You mean in this post-apocalyptic landscape?” Charlie asked with a laugh. “Absolutely nothing.”

“Hanging out with you two, I presumed,” Gilda answered. 

“I say we get some food and some alcohol and head back to my place,” Charlie offered. 

“Do you still have to work this evening, Dorothy?” Gilda asked in concern. 

Dorothy’s laugh came out more as a snort. “I wouldn’t care if my manager wanted me to work the rest of the night,” she said. “He’s not here, and neither is literally anyone else. I’m getting the hell out of here. Just give me a few minutes to close up,” she continued as she scooped up their empty coffee mugs. 

Gilda looked at Charlie nervously before resting her hand over Charlie’s. “Charlie?” she began. “Thanks for knocking on my door,” she said earnestly. 

Charlie just intertwined their fingers with a grin. 

Suddenly an old version of “Jingle Bell Rock” came blaring through the speakers and Dorothy slid out of the back room lipsynching along as she wiped down the counters. 

Charlie and Gilda burst into giggles as Dorothy continued unphased, only giving them a wink. Before long Charlie was pulling an embarrassed Gilda up out of her chair and twirling her in a circle as they started to dance to the music as well while Dorothy continued to clean up. A few more Christmas songs passed as all three of them got more and more ridiculous with their dance moves until Dorothy finally pronounced that she was finished cleaning up.

But Charlie wasn’t having any of that—the three of them were going to have at least one dance all together. She waved Dorothy over and they joined hands around Gilda, giggling and dancing as “All I Want For Christmas Is You” came on over the speakers. 

“Mariah Carey? Really?” Gilda asked as Dorothy and Charlie each serenaded her from either side until she finally gave in and began dancing in a circle between them. 

When the song finished they were all out of breath from the dancing and the laughter, and Charlie couldn’t stop giggling for the life of her. They gathered up their coats and moved out, Dorothy stepping between Charlie and Gilda after the Emerald City Coffee’s doors were locked behind them. She hooked her leather-jacket clad arms between theirs. 

“So, where are we off to?” she asked. 

“Well, I don’t have any booze at my place, but we could pick some up and then order a pizza if everyone is good with that?” Charlie suggested. 

“Sounds good to me! I know just the place,” Dorothy said as she headed off down the street, pulling her two companions along with her. 

Soon they arrived at a small little liquor store. “What’s your poison, girls?” Dorothy asked with an arched eyebrow. 

“Wine,” Gilda responded just as Charlie declared “Rum.” 

Dorothy laughed. “Well I’m all about my whiskey, so it looks like we’ll be drinking different things tonight.”

“You two go pick your favorites, and this one is on me,” Charlie said, pushing them each gently towards their respective sections. 

“No, you already offered up your place! At least split it with me?” Gilda asked. 

“No, if anything, me and Red are splitting it—we’re celebrating you!” Dorothy protested. 

Gilda rolled her eyes. “First of all, it’s ‘Red and I,’” she corrected, to which Dorothy muttered, “typical English major” under her breath, causing Charlie to try to suppress her laughter. But Gilda continued, “And I do not enjoy being the center of attention, in case you haven’t noticed, so we’re going to all just celebrate the holiday break together. Is that understood?” 

“I like it when you get bossy, Beautiful,” Dorothy answered. 

Gilda just rolled her eyes again. “Do either of you ever stop flirting?” she asked. 

“Nope,” Charlie responded cheerfully as Dorothy shook her head. “And I think you kind of like it,” Dorothy added knowingly.

“God help me, I think I do,” Gilda admitted, looking between them. 

Once they had each made their choices and Gilda had agreed to let Charlie and Dorothy pay as long as she could pay for the pizza, they were headed out of the store and towards Charlie’s dorm. 

It was a quick walk, and soon Charlie was pushing open her bedroom door, trying to not feel too self-conscious about the sheer amount of geek that her décor exuded. 

“Make yourselves at home,” Charlie said as she took off her coat and shoes. “And don’t worry about spreading over to Dean’s side of the room—God knows he doesn’t know where the line between our belongings is.” 

They each laughed as they slung their coats on top of Charlie’s on the back of her desk chair. 

“I don’t know about you two, but I’m in the mood for a movie,” Gilda declared as she slipped out of her boots. 

“Oh that sounds great!” Charlie answered. “My DVDs are all there,” she indicated, pointing to the cabinet beneath the TV, “Or we can find something on Netflix.”

Dorothy and Gilda busied themselves looking through Charlie’s movies as Charlie got settled in and pulled up the website to order their pizza. 

“What’re your favorite kinds of pizza?” Charlie asked from her bed. 

“Well I’m a vegetarian,” Gilda said, “but other than that I’m not picky!” 

“Oh,” Dorothy said in surprise, “well that’s—”

“Don’t get all polite on me now,” Gilda said with a nudge. “You want something with meat on it, don’t you?”

Dorothy nodded sheepishly. 

Charlie laughed. “And I like both, so let’s just do half vegetarian and half not. We can make it work.” 

They ordered the pizza and settled on watching _A Knight’s Tale_ since neither Dorothy nor Gilda had seen it, which was an outrage in Charlie’s opinion—especially for an aspiring medievalist. 

Soon they were all sprawled out over pillows and blankets on the floor with their pizza and their drinks, laughing at the movie’s embracing of its own delightful absurdity. The lights were dimmed so that only Charlie’s fairy lights that hung around the perimeter of the room were lit, and she even lit a couple of candles—regulations be damned. They seemed to drift progressively closer together as the night went on until they were all shoulder to shoulder as the credits rolled, surrounded by empty pizza boxes but still sipping on their drinks. 

“Well, that may have not been the most _educational_ period piece, but it was amazing nonetheless,” Gilda assessed from her place between Charlie and Dorothy. 

“The soundtrack was fantastic,” Dorothy added. “Anything with classic rock and I’m there.” 

“You and Dean would get along well,” Charlie mused. “And there are many things to love, but a cute female blacksmith doing her own thing like a badass? You can’t beat that,” she said matter-of-factly. 

“Red, I get the feeling that the cute, badass girl is your favorite in everything that you watch,” Dorothy teased from the other side of Gilda.

“Something wrong with that?” Charlie challenged with a raised eyebrow. 

“Nope, nothing at all,” Dorothy laughed. “Can’t say I wasn’t looking too, I was just looking at Heath Ledger as well.” 

Gilda sighed dramatically. “And _I_ was just following the plot,” she said with exaggerated exasperation. 

“Speaking of our varied sexual preferences,” Charlie said mischievously, “I think we should play ‘never have I ever.’” 

Dorothy laughed as she spread out onto the floor on her stomach. “Are we in high school?”

“What?” Charlie protested, “It’s a good way to get to know people quickly. And with booze.”

“I’ve never played,” Gilda said as she adjusted the pillows behind her. “Is that the one you play by holding up your fingers?” 

“That’s the one,” Charlie confirmed. “Come on,” she said to Dorothy, nudging her with her socked foot, “It will be fun. Aren’t there things you want to know about me?” she asked flirtatiously.

“Well when you put it that way, Red,” Dorothy said with a grin. “Okay, I’m going to need some more whiskey then.” 

“I’m going to put on some music,” Charlie said, already buzzing with anticipation. She selected her favorite queer girl mix on her computer and Gilda and Dorothy poured the drinks. 

The sounds of Tegan and Sara were a perfect fit as the three of them sat facing one another, the white lights glowing dimly, briefly going over the rules of the game for Gilda’s benefit. 

“So, we all start with ten fingers, and then I put one down if I’ve done the thing that someone else says?” Gilda surmised. 

“Yep, simple as that,” Dorothy confirmed. 

“Oh, and if no one puts a finger down for what you say, then you have to put one down and take a drink,” Charlie added. 

“Oh, I am so going to win,” Gilda said, obviously pleased. 

“Well, go ahead then,” Charlie said, nudging Gilda’s knee with her own as she held up her fingers. 

“Never have I ever had sex,” Gilda began. 

Dorothy whistled. “Straight to the juicy stuff, okay,” she said as she put down a finger and took a swig of her drink. “I can respect that.” 

Charlie also put down a finger and took a drink as both Gilda and Dorothy turned to her. “My turn? Okay… never have I ever kissed a boy.” 

Only Dorothy took a drink put down a finger this time. “You got that gold star locked down, don’t you?” she teased. 

“Yep,” Charlie confirmed with a laugh. “What can I say? I’ve always known I was gay since I discovered the word for it.” 

Now it was Charlie’s and Gilda’s turn to look at Dorothy expectantly. “Never have I ever… had a one night stand,” she said, looking at Charlie knowingly, who rolled her eyes and took a drink, putting down a finger. “I feel like you two could easily team up on me,” she said jokingly, looking towards Gilda.

Gilda looked a bit hesitant before finally proffering, “Never have I ever kissed anyone.” 

Dorothy and Charlie looked between each other as Gilda put a finger down and took a drink. “Do you… do you _want_ to kiss someone?” Charlie asked. “I mean,” she continued awkwardly, “You don’t have to say, like, specifically, but is it because you just aren’t interested in the whole kissing thing or—”

Gilda smiled warmly at her. “On the whole I thought I was just not interested. But now… I don’t know. I think I’d like to try it. I think if I were really into the person, or, you know, people, then…” 

“It would be different,” Dorothy finished for her. “That makes sense.” 

“But then of course there is the issue of how you actually make it happen,” Gilda continued. “It has never come naturally to me like it seems to for you two. What do I do—just tell someone I want to kiss them and hope for the best?”

“That’s exactly what you do, actually,” Charlie said with a smile. “I mean—there are other ways, of course, but direct and clear has always worked for me.” 

“Well, then, Charlie,” Gilda asked with a blush, “May I kiss you?” 

A tingling warmth went down her spine as Charlie nodded emphatically, turning towards Gilda, and soon Gilda’s soft lips were on hers, and her hand was gently cupping Charlie’s face as she kissed her briefly and sweetly. 

Much to Charlie’s delight, as Gilda pulled away she turned towards Dorothy. “And you, Dorothy? May I kiss you?” 

Dorothy, who was still holding her glass of whiskey and looking between Charlie and Gilda with her mouth slightly open blinked herself back into the present and nodded. Soon she and Gilda were kissing, and Charlie couldn’t get enough of it—the way that Gilda leaned into it cautiously, the way that Dorothy’s eyes fluttered shut as she wrapped her free hand behind Gilda’s neck. It was over all too soon, and the whole exchange left Charlie breathless. 

“Well,” Dorothy said a bit hoarsely after a pause. “What do you say, Red, should we complete the circle?” 

Charlie nodded and leaned over towards Dorothy to feel their lips meet more roughly, their lips clashing and sliding for several moments before they each pulled away. 

“I think it’s you, Red,” Dorothy said after several moments had passed marked only by a Brandi Carlile song. 

“Huh?” Charlie asked obliviously. “Oh. Right. My turn,” she mumbled distractedly, her head still pleasantly fuzzy. 

“Never have I ever… done the polyamorous relationship thing,” she said with a gulp. Neither Dorothy nor Gilda put their fingers down, so she did and took a drink. 

“I would do it though,” Dorothy said quietly. “You know, with the right people.” 

“People who you clicked with immediately?” Gilda asked contemplatively. “Yes, I think I would too. Although…”

“What?” Charlie pressed. 

Gilda bit her lip nervously. “What if… I mean, I really liked kissing both of you. But what if I don’t ever want more than that? What if I’m not into the whole…”

“Sex thing?” Dorothy finished for her. 

“Yes,” Gilda confirmed. 

“Then that’s fine,” Charlie said comfortingly, placing a hand on Gilda’s thigh. “That’s more than fine. I mean,” she added nervously—she had had enough alcohol that her head was pleasantly fuzzy and she wasn’t _totally_ sure they were on the same page here—“hypothetically, you know.”

“It doesn’t make me… weird? Or… wrong?” Gilda asked, still nervous.

“No,” Dorothy said firmly. “It just means… have you ever heard the word ‘asexual’?” 

Gilda’s eyes lit up a bit. “You mean it isn’t just me?” 

“No,” Charlie said. “Not just you.” Charlie scooted closer to Gilda and put an arm around her. “In any sort of… hypothetical relationship, poly or otherwise… the person or people you’re with should respect what you want or don’t want, always.” 

“It sounds so simple when you put it like that,” Gilda said with a smile, leaning her head on Charlie’s shoulder. 

Dorothy scooted over to be on Gilda’s other side. “It can be,” she said, and the way she said it made it sound like an offer. 

“We could… kiss some more,” Gilda said after a pause. “If you both would like,” she added, looking between them, the game already forgotten. 

Charlie’s lips were on Gilda’s first, soft and slow as Gilda explored the varied sensations that different pressures provided. Charlie sighed contentedly into it and moved a hand to Gilda’s face to pull her closer as the kiss deepened. Soon she felt Dorothy’s hand slide over the hand on her thigh and she opened her eyes and pulled gently away from Gilda to see Dorothy kissing down Gilda’s neck, causing Gilda to groan. The two of them kissed as Charlie watched, and Charlie combed a hand through each of their hair. They continued like that for quite a while, exchanging kisses and gentle touches, even a few messy three-way kisses that they somehow made work. 

Eventually the music stopped, and they realized how late it was getting. 

“Just stay here,” Charlie said. “I mean, I know you’re right down the hall, Gilda, but I don’t want you to be walking home alone, Dorothy, and—” She stopped when she realized that Gilda and Dorothy were exchanging a meaningful look. “What?” she asked. 

“We really don’t need convincing,” Gilda illuminated with a smile. 

“The only question is… where will we sleep?” Dorothy asked. “Dorm beds are barely fit for two, let alone…”

“The floor it is,” Charlie confirmed, and thus commenced an epic bed-making session involving relocating both Charlie’s mattress and Dean’s mattress to the floor and piling up all the blankets and pillows that they could muster. It was incredibly comfortable when they were finished, if Charlie did say so herself. 

“Did we put enough blankets in the middle that you can’t feel the space between them?” she asked Gilda, who was lying between her and Dorothy. 

“Mmm, yes,” Gilda confirmed, snuggling into the mattress contentedly. 

“PJs, anyone?” Charlie offered. 

“Sure, Red,” Dorothy said with a smile. Charlie pushed herself up and started ruffling through her drawers, throwing some comfortable sweats at Dorothy followed by a Black Widow t-shirt. 

“Gilda?” she asked. 

“I feel weird taking your clothes when mine are right down the hall,” she answered sheepishly. 

Charlie arched an eyebrow. “Down the hall is a long way.”

Gilda nodded, and Charlie went back to riffling before procuring a pair of pajama pants with stars on them and a _Doctor Who_ t-shirt. Dorothy was already changing unabashed when Charlie picked out her own pajamas and turned around. Gilda and Charlie exchanged looks and began undressing too, all three of them sending shy sweeping glances over each others’ bodies before crawling onto their makeshift bed. 

There, more kisses and soft touches were exchanged until their yawns were more and more frequent, their limbs tangling with each other until they fell asleep in a cuddly heap. 

Charlie awoke the next morning feeling both amazingly content and horribly guilty. Tonight was the first night of the full moon. What on earth was she going to tell Dorothy and Gilda? Not the truth, obviously. And she couldn’t be around people when it happened for their own safety. 

Her anxieties were momentarily dispelled as she realized that Gilda and Dorothy were already awake and whispering. She turned over and slung an arm around Gilda. “Morning,” she said with a yawn. 

“We were just saying that we are starving,” Gilda said as Dorothy leaned in to kiss Charlie’s cheek. “Breakfast?” 

The guilt mounted all through the rest of the morning, despite the amazing company and the fun they had at a diner down the street putting whipped cream on each other’s noses. 

But, much to her surprise, she was not the first one bring up the issue of the next few days.

“So…” Dorothy began as she pushed away her cleared plate of pancakes, “I think I’m going to be, well, preoccupied until Christmas.” 

“Oh?” Gilda asked in confusion, looking rather disappointed. 

“Yes,” Dorothy said, looking as guilty as Charlie herself felt. “I’m sorry. I wish I could stay.” 

“Actually…” Charlie hazarded. “Maybe we should just meet again on Christmas. All three of us.”

Now Gilda turned her confused face towards Charlie. Dorothy looked rather surprised too. 

The rest of breakfast passed in a markedly uncomfortable silence as they paid separately and then headed out the diner door. 

“How about we meet at Charlie’s place again on Christmas day?” Dorothy said in a voice that was too bright. 

“Is there something you two aren’t telling me?” Gilda asked confusedly. “Did you not have a good time last night? Or do you two just want to…”

“No!” Charlie and Dorothy said simultaneously. “That’s not it,” Charlie continued. “I just… I think I’m coming down with something,” she said desperately. “But I want to see both of you on Christmas. We’ll talk it out then.” 

“What Red said,” Dorothy echoed with a sad half smile, and while Charlie was happy that she wasn’t the one or at least the only one to pull things apart, she wondered why on earth Dorothy would be doing this. Was she not as into the idea of a poly relationship in the cold light of day? 

Feeling anxious, Charlie hugged Dorothy goodbye for now, and Gilda followed before they headed back to their respective dorms. She wished that she could tell Gilda that it was only at night that they would have to be apart, but how could you say that and sound sane? 

They exchanged a rather awkward embrace before they headed back to their separate rooms, and Gilda’s hurt face made Charlie’s stomach churn uncomfortably. Why did the full moon have to happen _now_? 

*****

The next two days were a blur, as the full moon usually was. During the day Charlie was too tired and sore to move, mostly just eating and sleeping and watching TV mindlessly on her computer. Dean called her a couple of times during the day to check in, asking if he needed to stop by, to which Charlie repeatedly answered with an emphatic, “no.” Hearing about how welcoming Mary was towards Cas and how great Cas and Sam were getting along cheered her up a little though. 

And at night, Charlie channeled all of her energy into clinging onto her humanity, trying to refrain from clawing and biting at her own furniture in her wolfy form, instead taking out her aggression on several large chewtoys that Dean had bought her (yeah, it was totally humiliating, but she had lost enough money on replacing comforters, thank you very much). She had gotten better over the years on holding onto who she was, on not letting the instincts take over, the need to bite humans—mostly because she was careful to keep herself secluded. 

But it sucked. It was lonely. And painful. And she still felt so guilty for how things were left with Gilda and Dorothy, and she hoped that on Christmas day when this was over they could talk. She wasn’t sure she was ready to tell them, but they could hopefully pick up where they left off, talk through whatever it was that took Dorothy away for several days, and get back to that bright, blossoming thing that they had between them. 

On the morning of Christmas Eve, Charlie woke up naked, having transformed back as she slept, on the bed on the floor that she had not bothered to put back (mostly because doing so would have made her too sad). 

She was just tiredly pulling on some clothes and rubbing at her aching muscles when there was a knock on the door. 

She honestly wasn’t sure if she was hoping that it was Gilda and/or Dorothy demanding an explanation, or if she was dreading the encounter. 

The flips that her stomach performed when she opened the door to find Gilda did nothing to resolve the question, as they were simultaneously due to happiness and nerves.

“Hey,” Charlie said awkwardly, taking in Gilda’s beautiful form, the way her hair fell in waves, her pretty blue sweater, her bright eyes. “How are you?” she finally managed. 

“Confused,” Gilda said with a sigh. “I just came to see how your are doing. You look awful, are you okay? Do you still want to meet tomorrow?” 

“Yes, absolutely!” Charlie said a bit too loudly.

“I don’t know why we’re waiting,” Gilda continued. “If you two really aren’t looking for a way out of this, then how about we meet tonight? It’s Christmas Eve. Why should we be alone?” 

Charlie sighed. “Gilda,” she said with regret, “I’m so sorry. I can’t.”

“You do look tired,” Gilda said. “Are you okay? Have you been sick?”

“Yeah, kinda,” she said, cringing. 

“Charlie,” Gilda continued fiercely, “I just don’t understand why—” She stopped midsentence, looking like she had just been struck in the face. “Oh,” she said quietly. “I’m an idiot. I’m an idiot!” 

“What?” Charlie asked incredulously—now she was the confused one. “What are you talking about?” 

“I’m an idiot, but you and Dorothy—God, you two are… even bigger idiots!” she all but yelled, and as if things couldn’t get any stranger, she took Charlie’s face in hers and kissed her briefly and squarely on the mouth. 

Charlie just stared at her wide-eyed. 

“Stay here,” Gilda said as she turned away. “I’ll be back before the moon rises!” 

“That’s… really weirdly specific!” Charlie called halfheartedly after Gilda’s retreating form, but Gilda was already pushing the door open to the stairwell. 

She stood in the doorway for several more minutes in complete confusion. Had Gilda… No. That’s absurd. She couldn’t know. And hell, even if she did, it’s not like it would make a difference. She would still be alone.

Charlie finally went back into her room and collapsed back onto her bed, exhausted even just from standing briefly. Her whole body ached. Curling up into a self-pitying ball, she soon fell back asleep. 

She awoke to another knock on her door. Reaching for her phone, she saw that it was the mid-afternoon—still a couple hours to go before dark. She groggily pushed herself up from her bed and stumbled to the door. 

Standing there was Gilda, as promised, but this time she had a bewildered looking Dorothy in tow. 

“Um, hi,” Charlie said. “What are you…”

“An excellent question that I would love to know the answer to,” Dorothy muttered. 

“I managed to track down Dorothy and I wouldn’t take no for an answer until she agreed to come here,” Gilda said bluntly. “Can we come in?”

“Sure,” Charlie said, opening the door wider. Both of them came in and Charlie was suddenly embarrassed that the bed they made the other night was still intact although mused. 

“We need to talk,” Gilda said as she collapsed down onto one of the mattresses. 

“No kidding,” Dorothy said, annoyed, still standing with arms crossed. “I need to get back to my apartment before the sun sets, okay? We can do this tomorrow—”

“Yes, yes, I know,” Gilda said from her place on the bed. “Because you’re a werewolf. And so is Charlie. Not that you two know that about each other, and I mean, really, shouldn’t you two be able to smell the wolf on the other or something?”

Charlie could only gape, first at Gilda, and then at Dorothy, who was frozen and also continuing to stare at Gilda with wide eyes. 

“Dorothy?” Charlie finally squeaked out. 

Dorothy turned towards Charlie. “You too, Red?” she asked quietly. 

“I… yes. Since I was sixteen. You?” 

“Since I was ten,” Dorothy said. “Right before my dad left.” 

Charlie nodded sympathetically and sat down next on the bed next to Gilda, patting the place beside her until Dorothy joined them. 

“My mind is blown,” Charlie said after some silence. “I… I’ve always known that there were more like me out there, but I’ve never actually met…”

“Me neither,” Dorothy said. “I don’t even know what to say. I’m glad though,” she said, smiling at Charlie and taking her hand. 

“How on earth did you figure it out, Gilda?” Charlie asked. 

Gilda laughed. “You two weren’t exactly being subtle. It was the only thing that made sense.” 

“Even so… you still can’t be here when the sun goes down, Gilda,” Dorothy said. “It isn’t safe.” 

“About that,” Gilda said, biting her lip. “Aren’t you guys curious about how I knew werewolves were a real thing?” 

“How?” Dorothy and Charlie asked together. 

“I’m not totally human,” Gilda admitted. “Growing up, strange things happened around me—I thought I was a witch who just never got her Hogwarts letter or something,” she said with a little laugh, causing Charlie to be just that much more entranced with her. 

“So if you aren’t a witch, what are you?” Dorothy asked curiously. 

“I’m part faery,” she said. “My birth parents left a letter with me to open when I was eighteen and that’s what it said, anyway. I wouldn’t have believed it except for the fact that it explained all the strange, semi-magical things I could do.” 

“Oh?” asked Charlie in fascination. “Like what?”

“Just little things,” Gilda said with a smile, leaning back onto her arms. “Pretty things. I can make it snow a little. I can make flowers grow. I can turn lights on and off. I can…ease pain.” 

“And you’re not technically human,” Charlie said amazedly. “Which means…”

“I can be with you tonight,” Gilda smiled. “And all other… you know… hypothetical nights. And not only that—I can make it easier. I can keep you calm, and I can make it not hurt.” 

Charlie felt like she could cry. “We can really do this thing?” she asked. 

“Yep,” Gilda answered. “Are you both in?” 

Suddenly Dorothy was launching herself across Charlie’s lap at Gilda and kissing her hard until they all fell backwards onto the bed in a heap. 

And then Dorothy and Charlie were kissing, and then Charlie and Gilda were kissing, and it was just all a mess of happy kisses and incredulous laughter. 

“Okay, you two mutts,” Gilda said with a laugh, pushing them up into sitting position again. “The sun’s about to go down.”

“I…” Charlie began, clearing her throat. “I can’t believe I won’t have to be alone,” she said quietly, looking down.

A hand found her chin and her eyes were meeting Gilda’s warm brown ones. “No, you won’t,” she said firmly before giving Charlie another quick kiss. 

She and Dorothy got ready for the transformation, mostly by shucking their clothes and slipping under the covers on either side of Gilda. 

Gilda wrapped an arm around either one of them. “I’m going to just make you calm through touch, okay? You’ll probably just feel warm and sleepy.”

“Sounds great to me, Beautiful,” Dorothy said, burrowing her head into Gilda’s shoulder as Charlie nodded happily on her other side. 

“So…I’m curious,” Gilda asked as they waited. “How does the whole transformation thing work? Is it sudden? What will you look like?” 

“Yeah, Red,” came Dorothy’s teasing voice, “Are you still Red as a mutt?”

Charlie laughed. “I am, actually. And you?”

“Dark brown bordering on black, I think? I don’t know, it’s hard to tell when you’re in dog form and all alone,” she said. “Although usually when I have to get out of something slightly more casual than an impending polyamorous relationship, I tell people that I have to take care of my dog Toto.” 

“Red and Toto it is,” Gilda laughed, and that was the last thing that Charlie remembered before she was slipping into the hazy mindset of a wolf. 

*****

Charlie woke up the next morning naked and pressed up against a solid wall of warmth. When she blinked herself awake, yawning, she took in Gilda’s and Dorothy’s sleeping forms with a start. 

She felt normal. Fantastic even. No aches or pains, no weird strains. No claw marks on anything. She felt… well rested. 

She remembered that it was Christmas morning and smiled all the wider. 

It was still early, but she was feeling wide awake and happy. She began to kiss a line of barely-there kisses up the side of Gilda’s neck, pressing herself closer until Gilda was squirming in her sleep. When her eyes finally fluttered open, she turned to look at Charlie and smiled. 

“How are you feeling?” she asked quietly. 

“Amazing,” Charlie whispered, moving in to give her a proper kiss. “You really do work magic.” 

Gilda just smiled, and they kissed deeply for several long moments, Gilda’s fingers trailing across Charlie’s bare back, until Charlie pulled away and turned towards Dorothy. 

“You get one side and I’ll get the other,” Gilda whispered conspiratorially. 

“Okay,” Charlie whispered back, slowly moving herself over to the other side of Dorothy. While Gilda was still clothed, Dorothy was naked like she was, and the first press of their bare skin meeting caused her to groan lowly. 

Gilda was already kissing around Dorothy’s face and neck, so Charlie just trailed her fingers in patterns up and down the bare skin of her back, kissing her shoulder blade. 

When Dorothy finally opened her eyes and saw the two of them, she smiled sleepily. “Best Christmas morning of my life already,” she muttered with a wide yawn. 

“We could…” Charlie began cautiously, not sure what the other two wanted. “We could keep going.”

Dorothy and Gilda looked at each other. “You two can…” Gilda began. “I’m not sure that I…”

Dorothy cupped Gilda’s face tenderly. “Just because you don’t want to be directly in on the action doesn’t mean you don’t get to be here at all, Beautiful,” she said softly. “That is, if you want to be here at all.”

“I do,” Gilda said firmly. “I do. I just don’t know if I want anything beyond that.” 

“That’s fine,” Charlie said soothingly. “You just tell us what you need. What do you like? What do you want to try?”

Gilda bit her lip. “I think I like just seeing you two together. Not even because of the sexual component. You two just look gorgeous together. And we’ve established that I like the kissing. And the closeness, and some of the touching.” 

“Done,” Charlie said, reaching across Dorothy to kiss Gilda. 

“Do you want to keep the clothes on, Beautiful, or do you want to be naked like the rest of us?” Dorothy asked as casually as if she were asking the time.

“Naked, I think,” Gilda said with a shy smile, and Dorothy beamed and helped her out of her clothes. 

Soon they were all naked, pressed around Dorothy this time, and Gilda and Dorothy were kissing deeply as Charlie sucked a mark onto Dorothy’s shoulder and played with one of her nipples between her thumb and forefinger. 

“Do you want me to touch you here?” Dorothy asked Gilda, indicating her breasts, and Gilda nodded, leading Dorothy to kiss all around her chest before taking a dark, hard nipple into her mouth. Gilda moaned and looked to Charlie, who moved up to reach over Dorothy and kiss Gilda. 

Gilda somehow managed to kiss softly and fiercely all at once, her gentle movements not due to any uncertainly on her part—rather, she seemed to know exactly what it was she wanted as she grasped onto the backs of each of their necks. 

Then Dorothy was moving up between them and she turned towards Charlie. Her dark hair that was usually drawn back in a bun was loose about her shoulders, and when Charlie moved in to capture her lips, she was struck by how differently Dorothy and Gilda kissed. Whereas Gilda as soft and sure, Dorothy was hard and uncertain. She kissed recklessly, and yet seemed in need of guidance, of reassurance. 

So Charlie rearranged their bodies as they kissed until Dorothy was underneath her, Dorothy’s full breasts pressing into her small ones. 

“Gilda,” she said breathlessly as she pulled back. “Can you hold Dorothy’s head in your lap?” 

Gilda beamed, seeming to know what was coming. “Absolutely,” she said, moving behind Dorothy and arranging their bodies so that Dorothy was resting comfortably. Gilda stroked down her face and played with her hair and Charlie began to kiss her way down Dorothy’s body, taking her time, sucking several dark hickies onto the base of her neck and the sides of her breasts, loving the sounds of Dorothy moaning, some of them lost into Gilda’s mouth. 

Then she was kissing down Dorothy’s stomach and spreading her legs before kissing up those, reveling in the sounds of Dorothy already coming apart. She looked up at Gilda once more to see her cradling Dorothy’s head, stroking down her face and occasionally leaning down to kiss her. They made eye contact and Gilda smiled widely, obviously very happy with her part in this. 

Charlie then began to lick over Dorothy’s vulva with the flat of her tongue, causing Dorothy to squirm and moan loudly. She secured a forearm across Dorothy’s stomach and began slowly at first, spreading her tongue hard and sure everywhere except Dorothy’s clit. It wasn’t until Dorothy was nice and wet that Charlie began to trace the tip of her tongue in little circles up and down Dorothy’s swollen red clit, causing Dorothy’s legs to shake. 

She pulled away momentarily to put the middle two fingers of her right hand into her mouth, getting them wet before moving them to Dorothy’s opening and pressing one in gently, and then two. Dorothy gasped and arched her back, pressing more firmly into Gilda’s lap. Charlie smiled and began to move her fingers, pressing up and moving them forwards as she returned to licking in increasingly hard circles over Dorothy’s clit. 

Soon Dorothy’s body was rocking between them, and Charlie felt a hand intertwining fingers with her own hand that was resting on Dorothy’s stomach. She looked up to see Dorothy grasping tightly onto Gilda with one hand and her with the other, her eyes closed as she writhed and arched under Charlie’s mouth, under Gilda’s reassuring touches. 

Then Charlie pressed her fingertips more deeply inside of Dorothy, curling them upwards until Dorothy was all but crying out. 

“So close, so close, Charlie,” she panted, eyes still closed, her grip tight on Charlie’s hand. 

There was something so hot about the fact that that was one of the few times Dorothy had said Charlie’s real name. Charlie groaned and returned with renewed determination to Dorothy’s clit, licking at it hard before pressing her thumb down over it and moving it in circles until Dorothy was arching up harder than before and coming with a sob. Charlie worked her through it, continuing to lick at her clit until Dorothy was pulling her up for a messy kiss. Charlie collapsed against Dorothy, her head in Gilda’s lap as well, as Dorothy licked into her mouth to taste herself there. 

Gilda stroked their hair as they kissed until they pulled back to look into each other’s eyes. “That was amazing, Red,” Dorothy breathed, and Charlie just smiled and kissed her again. 

“You two are so beautiful,” Gilda said sincerely, reaching down to kiss them both on the foreheads. “I could watch you all day.” 

“I don’t know about you, Beautiful, but I’m eager to see what Red looks like when she loses it—how about you?” Dorothy asked casually, pinching one of Charlie’s breasts. 

Charlie couldn’t help her quick intake of breath, and Gilda nodded vigorously. 

“Can you kiss her for me while she sits on my face?” Dorothy asked, again in that same brusque tone. 

“Please,” Gilda responded breathlessly as the two of them moved Charlie until she was kneeling over Dorothy, whose head now rested on the mattress. Gilda kneeled in front of Charlie, helping to keep her steady as Dorothy began to lick at Charlie’s vulva hard and fast. 

Charlie stuttered out an “Ohhh-hhh” as she lost herself to it, grasping onto Gilda, who smiled and began to kiss her with that same gentle determination until Dorothy was sucking on Charlie’s clit just right, causing her to pull away from Gilda and instead rest her forehead against her shoulder. Gilda seemed to understand, stroking her hair and providing light teasing touches down her back and across her breasts as Charlie spiraled up towards orgasm. 

From beneath her Dorothy grasped onto her ass and slowed her pace, twirling her tongue teasingly around Charlie’s clit until she was shaking and begging. Only then did Dorothy give in and take Charlie over the edge until she was coming, her legs shaking around Dorothy and her hands grasping desperately onto Gilda, who held onto her tightly until she stopped shaking and moved to collapse on the bed next to Dorothy, Gilda sliding down to join them as well. 

Charlie moved to kiss Dorothy first, still grasping onto Gilda with a hand until they were a pile of warm bodies kissing every available surface of each other. When their kisses finally slowed, Gilda was in the middle, pressed securely between them. 

“Everyone good?” Charlie asked. 

“Fucking amazing, Red,” Dorothy said with a small smile, her eyes still closed as she rested on her back. “You, Gilda? You need anything?” Dorothy added, peeking open an eyelid. 

“That was… exactly what I wanted,” Gilda said incredulously, as if she still couldn’t really believe it. “Just… being with you both, touching you, kissing you…”

Charlie beamed and kissed her, and Dorothy moved to wrap an arm around them both. 

“I’m not letting either of you go for anything now, you know that?” Dorothy asked sleepily. 

“So that means…” Charlie began somewhat nervously. “We’re, like, together, right? The three of us?”

Dorothy laughed and reached across Gilda to cup Charlie’s face. “Yep. Exactly like together. That is, if that’s good with both of you.”

That led to another messy, slightly more giggly kissing session as the three of them reveled in this beautiful thing they had managed to stumble into until they were interrupted by the _Legend of Zelda_ themed tone from Charlie’s phone. 

Charlie groaned in annoyance. “I should get that—it’s probably just Dean making sure I’ve returned from wolfing out in one piece.”

She reached over Gilda and Dorothy and snatched her phone, surprised to see that it was Kevin calling.

“Hey, Kev,” she said happily as she answered. “What’s up?” 

“So,” Kevin began on the other line, “You know how I said I would drop it and leave you be because you can take care of yourself?” 

“Yes…” Charlie began cautiously, looking up at Gilda and Dorothy, who were peering at her curiously. 

“That was all a lie. I mean—” he interjected hurriedly, “You totally can take care of yourself, I know, and I know you’re probably fine all alone and whatever, but—”

“Spit it out, Kev,” Charlie said with a laugh.

“My mom and I are kinda outside your dorm building right now and ready to whisk you away to a Christmas feast.”

“What?!” Charlie nearly yelled, instinctually covering up some of her naked body with blankets. “What about your research with Dr. Fancypants at Harvard?”

“I asked him if I could work from home for part of the break,” Kevin stated nonchalantly. “I wanted to surprise you.”

“Um, yes, you’ve certainly accomplished that, and Kev, I’m _so_ excited to see you, but—”

“Ohhhh,” said Kevin knowingly. “Whoever she is, bring her with you. You’ve known my mom since we were toddlers, Charlie, you know how she is—the more the merrier. See you in five?” 

And with that he hung up. 

Charlie set down her phone with a gulp. “So, guys…” she began awkwardly. “How about we go celebrate Christmas at one of my best friend’s house with him and his mom?”

“Free food?” Dorothy said, unphased, “I’m there. As long as it’s somewhere you actually want to be, Red, and not like a sort-of family obligation thing—”

“Oh, no, I love Kevin and his mom,” Charlie said hurriedly. “Mrs. Tran was practically like a mother to me growing up. I spent more time at their house than at my foster family’s. It’s just…”

“She doesn’t know you’re gay?” Gilda asked. 

“Oh, no, she does,” Charlie corrected. “In fact, she was extremely supportive and amazing.”

“Red, we don’t have to tell her we’re all together,” Dorothy said, placing a comforting hand on Charlie’s thigh. “It’s new, and that’s a lot to spring on someone.”

“No, no, I want to,” Charlie said, realizing how true that was as the words came out of her mouth. “I just wasn’t expecting it today. Are you guys okay with meeting my sort of brother and sort of mom?” 

“I’d love to, Charlie,” Gilda said sincerely, already getting up and pulling on her clothes. “I’m sure it will be great.” 

Dorothy nodded and also began to gather her clothes. “This has already been so beyond any Christmas I could have dreamed of,” she said with a smile. 

Charlie smiled at both of them gratefully as they hurriedly finished getting ready and went down the stairs. 

Kevin and Mrs. Tran were waiting in the parking lot, and as soon as they were visible, Kevin came running over and launched himself into Charlie’s arms until the two of them were laughing in a tight embrace. By the time they pulled apart, Mrs. Tran had approached them as well, and Charlie pulled away from Kevin to give her a hug too. 

“Hey, Charlie,” Mrs. Tran said as she held her, “so glad to see you, hun, how have things been?”

“Great, Mama Tran,” Charlie said with a smile. 

Mrs. Tran turned to look at the two women behind her. “Kev said you might have a girlfriend with you!” she said with a smile. “Which one of you beautiful ladies is Charlie’s girlfriend?” 

Gilda and Dorothy looked at each other awkwardly, and Charlie took a deep breath. 

“Actually…” she began, trying to ignore her rolling stomach, “they both are.” 

Mrs. Tran raised her eyebrows. “Charlie Bradbury.” 

Charlie felt panic rise up from within as every worse case scenario flashed through her mind. 

“I should have known that you were just too much awesome to share with only one person,” Mrs. Tran finished, extending her hand outwards as Gilda and Dorothy introduced themselves.

Charlie stood there in silence for a moment before interrupting the introductions by launching herself into Mrs. Tran’s arms again. 

Mrs. Tran laughed and hugged her again. “Well, Dorothy, Gilda, it’s wonderful to meet you both. Come on, everyone,” she said, one arm still around Charlie as she gestured towards her car, “let’s go eat.” 

As they sped off towards the Tran’s house with Charlie sitting between her two girlfriends in the backseat, she looked at each person in the car as Kevin and Gilda got into a conversation about medieval culture and Dorothy and Mrs. Tran began discussing her work in anthropology and was sure that she was just about the luckiest person in the world this Christmas.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! This is my first time writing for this pairing--I'd love to know what you thought in the comments! :)


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